Claw Out My Heart
by midnitemusic
Summary: Max has always been best friends with Emmet Cullen. But what happens when Max phases into a werewolf, and imprints on Paul? Will she have to choose between her best friend, and the guy she loves? Rated T just in case...
1. Chapter 1

"Bells, hurry up! We're going to be late to school! And it's the last day! Hurry uuupppp!" I pounded my hand against the oak door, trying to get Bella to open the door to the bathroom. Do you know what's worse than sharing one bathroom with a 18 year-old girl, and a chief of police? _Nothing._

"Max, I'll be out in a minute, I'm just having a bad hair day, and it looks like a bird's nest, so just give me a sec!"

I groaned, knowing that Bella's version of a second is about an hour. "Bells, open the door and let me in; I'll help you with that knot you call your "hair." I heard Bella groan, clearly frustrated, before she opened the door and yanked me inside.

"Yikes, you weren't kidding, looks like something curled up on your head and died." I surveyed the tangle of hair on the top of her before I grabbed a conveniently placed brush, and got to work. After about 5 minutes or so of yanking the brush through her mane, I finally stepped back and looked at my masterpiece.

"Viola!" I said as Bella turned to look at herself in the mirror.

"I love it!" she squealed, "You're a genius!"

"So I've been told; now, come on, we've got to get to school!" I grabbed the collar of her shirt and literally dragged her down the stairs and to the front door.

"Bye dad!" we called back to Charlie, already halfway out the door.

"I'm still not used to calling him dad…." Bella said once we were inside the car.

"You? Imagine me! He's not even my real dad!" I said while laughing.

"Hahaha, right, whatever." We arrived at school and got out of the car. As usual, most of the guys within seeing range stopped and stared at me. Ugh, this school is just full of perverted idiots.

"Ugh, I feel like a troll standing next to you." Bella said, all the while glaring at the guys that were staring at me. She can really act like a sister at times.

"What? Stop putting yourself down! Your beautiful too, and the guys in this school are just looking for a pretty face so they can 'get it on'!" I said, raising my voice at the end.

"You're kidding me! Look at you; you're Mrs. Tall, dark, and beautiful, while I'm Mrs. Short, pale, and plain." Bella huffed, looking down at the ground.

Before I could even say anything, a new voice cut in.

"Well, I don't know if it means anything to anybody, but you're the most beautiful girl _I_ have ever seen."

"Edward!" Bella exclaimed, running into his waiting arms. "I've missed you!" She kissed him lovingly on the lips.

"Ugh can you guys, like, wait until I get out of the room? Or better yet, save it for _after_ you get married." I said, a disgusted look crossing my face. Bella blushed and glared at me, while Edward just chuckled.

"You know how she hates it when you remind her about it." He said, grabbing her hand and holding it.

"How could she not remember it? She has a huge rock on her hand that probably weighs the same as a small dog! It's impossible to forget with that ring on her finger!" I lifted Bella's hand up as if to say _"see?" _Bella snatched her hand away and glowered at me, her whole face flushed.

"Aw, well isn't it the lovely engaged couple?"

"Emmett…"Bella groaned, looking annoyed, but the huge vampire just grinned at her. Yes, I did say _vampire_; I knew all about the Cullens and the pack, but I haven't really met anybody who was a wolf. Right about now, if somebody told me they were a unicorn, I would have probably believed them.

"Oh come on! How come when he says that, all he gets is _"Emmett…"_, while I get a whole speech from the soon-to-be-groom over there?" I said, jerking my head towards Edward, disbelief written all over my face.

"That's because while I know you could harm me badly, and possibly kill me, Emmett can kill me with just two fingers." Bella said with a _isn't it obvious?_ look. Emmett laughed while I pouted.

"Aw, looks like Maxy is upset." Jasper said, striding towards us with Alice sashaying by his side.

"Emmett, I wouldn't do that if I were you," Alice said, looking up at the gigantic vamp with an amused look.

"What? You mean _this?_" Emmett strode over to me, picked me up, and spun me around while I yelled at him to put me down.

"_Erhem."_ Em put me down, and we both looked in the direction of the person who cleared his throat. _"Oh great, it's Mike, the delusional yellow lab."_Edward must have heard my thoughts because he looked like he was going to burst out laughing anytime soon.

"Uh, you _erhem_ed?" Rosalie snapped, always being the impatient one. Mike looked at her, then turned his attention towards me. I could already tell I was going to need to get Em and Jazz to hold me back to prevent me from ripping out this kid's throat.

"Yeah, I was wondering, Max, would you like to go out with me, you know, to celebrate getting out of this hellhole?" he asked, ending the question with a nervous chuckle.

"Um, sorry, I can't, I, uh, um, I got to, uh…."

Alice, seeing I was hesitating, decided to step in. "She can't go because she's going to celebrate with us." I threw her a look that clearly said _thank you for saving me from a date with this pup,_ and then nodded in Mike's direction to confirm what Alice had just said.

"Oh, um ok…I guess I'll see you soon? I hope? Maybe you can come visit me at the store or something…?" Man, for someone who tries to act cool, this guy can be _really_ insecure!

"Uh, yeah, maybe. I'll try to stop by." Translation: I'll visit you when hell freezes over, and when Bella can play sports. And for those of you who haven't seen Bella play sports, consider yourselves lucky. More then one person has lost a tooth from when she tried to play football.

I watched him walk away, then turned to Alice.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I owe you _big_ time! You're a legend, and you dominate, _and_you're a boss!" I said while hugging her.

Emmett laughed. "In Max's book, that's the highest level you could get!" I pouted, pretending to be mad. At the exact same the bell rang.

"Ok, well see you guys later." I said, using my signature goodbye. (It's just a salute using only your pointer and middle finger.)


	2. Chapter 2

"_3…2…1…_FREEDOM!" The last bell rang, signaling the end of the last day of school. Instantly, all of my friends surrounded me, and we all talked excitedly.

"I can't believe it's the end of the school year!"

"I know!"

"We're finally free from this jail they call a school." Everybody laughed at my comment. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone waving frantically at me. I fully turned my head towards the person, and noticed it was Alice.

"Oh hey guys, I have to go. But I'll see you later. Bye!" I waved at the crowd as I walked away. Alice instantly snatched my arm and hauled me over to where the others were standing.

"Ok, so what Rose and I were thinking was that, you know, since you love us and owe me for saving you from Mike, is that we get to dress you up for when you go to party at our house tonight?" That's Alice for you; she gets straight to the point.

"You weren't kidding about the whole party thing? I thought you just came up with that to cover for me!" I screeched, knowing that if I allow Alice to dress me up, she'll go to the _extreme._

"Of course I wasn't kidding!" Alice said outraged," It's important for you and Bella to have a normal human experience, and since hanging out with mythical creatures isn't anywhere near normal, you could at least attend a graduation party with some of your friends." I stared at her blankly.

Emmett chuckled. "I think we have to dumb it down for our human friend here." He turned to me and spoke slowly, sounding out each vowel, "Hanging out with vampires = not normal, graduation party = normal, and when you add it all up it sums up to you going to the damn party whether you like it or not!"

I glared at him. "Jeez Em, thanks. That helps so much." Please note that I was using sarcasm, and that it's really sad that I have to point that out.

"Great, so you guys can ride home with us and we can start Max's and Bella's beautification process as soon as we get home." Rosalie chirped.

"You mean to say I'm not beautiful?" I put a hand over my heart and feigned being hurt.

"Puh-lease, it's just that you're not…um..._girly_enough." Alice tried. This time Emmett beat me to the punch.

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?" he mimicked in a high pitched voice. I shot him a look.

"It just means that Max is too big of a tomboy to actually look girlish. Even her nickname! Why not just stick with Makayla? It's a pretty name… " Rosalie huffed. I was about to object, but now that I thought about it, she was right: I skateboard, I play baseball, I play football, and I _hate_ dresses and skirts with a passion. Plus the closet I've come to putting on makeup, was when I was asleep and Emmet smeared some lipstick on my face.

"Eh, you have a point." I admitted.

"Great, let's go so we can get there on time, you know, before Esme begins to cook." Jasper started dragging us down the hall.

"Wait, what about my bike? I can't leave my baby out there to fend for herself! Someone can ruin the paintjob or run her over! I can _not _leave that beauty out there!" I stomped my foot like a three year old, then started tugging my arm back. But because Jasper is so dang stubborn, not to mention insanely strong, he just hung on tighter.

"Your motorcycle is already at our house. Jeez, your almost worst than Emmett. All you two talk about is 'car this, car that. Oh did you see that knew car model? It's the bomb."

Bella snickered. "The bomb? Please tell me you don't actually say that." She asked, giving me an incredulous look.

"Of course not!" I shrieked, " Just because I like Rock from the 80's doesn't I talk like I was from that time period!" Alice glared at me.

"Hey! I used to talk like that, so shut up!" She stomped ahead, but the effect was dampened because of her petite body. I chuckled.

"Now let's go before Jasper pulls my arm out of its socket." Jasper gave me a sweet Southern smile, and we got in the silver Volvo, heading towards my torture.


	3. Chapter 3

"Don't tell me you're leaving already?" Alice whined, clinging onto my arm like an annoying piece of lint.

"Would you like some cheese with that whine?" I chuckled at the corny joke, "Alice, yes, I'm going, so buh-bye!" I tried pulling my arm away, put she just hung on tighter.

"But Maaaaax!" She pouted and stomped her foot. I stopped, looked at her, then her foot, and laughed.

"Please tell me you did _not_just stomp your foot! Only spoiled girls do that! On second thought..." I trailed off. She let go of my arm outraged. I smiled at her innocently; knowing very well that she figured out it was just part of my plan.

I saluted to them, and ran out of the house. Grinning like the idiot I am, I hopped onto my bike.

Call me a geek, but I'm obsessed with motorcycles and cars. And right now, I was riding the love of my life. An 883 Sportster hugger Harley-Davidson...yup, this beauty's got it all.

I rushed to my house, not even bothering to throw on my helmet. I know, I'm _such_a rebel. *Insert eye-roll here.*

I pulled up to my drive way, only to see a Rabbit pick up back out and drive away.

Pushing my kickstand down with my foot, I glanced over my shoulder and caught one last look of the fleeting truck before going inside.

"Hey Char- um, Dad! I'm back!" I slammed my keys down on the table and sauntered over to the living room, where I saw Charlie sprawled out on the couch.

"Hey, move over," I lightly pushed his legs off to make enough room for me to sit down, "Who'd just pulled out of the driveway?"

"Oh, that was just Billy and Jake; remember them? You met once when you were 12." He tore his eyes away from the football game long enough to give me a stern look, "Where were you anyway? Where's Bella?"

I shrugged and swiped some chips from the bowl in Charlie's arms, "Cullen's," I said through a mouthful of salt and vinegar crisps. He mumbled something and pulled the bowl closer to his chest.

"You kids spend too much time with those people. Especially Bella. It isn't healthy." I snorted and wiped some imaginary tears away, "Yeah, unhealthy. You make it sound like we're gonna develop cancer from hanging out with our friends."

He shot me a somber look and sighed.

"I'm not saying that; it's just that those kids are real strange. They don't even look like teenagers. I just wish you'd stay cut back on visiting them. They're starting to mess with your mind." I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever you say, Pops. Now can we just watch the game? Huskies are up by ten." Charlie chuckled and sat up.

"And this is why you're my favorite son." He ruffled my hair, and I swatted his hand away.

"Har Har. You're _so_funny, _Dad_. May I remind you that you're no longer a teenager, so you have no permission, what so ever, to say anything remotely funny or sarcastic." I shot him a smug smile. His response was to grumble and steal the last of the chips.

I automatically reached over him to snag some of the snacks, but my hand was met by an empty bowl. I grabbed the bowl, and with one final glare, I walked to the kitchen in search of more of the greasy goodness.

With a satisfactory smirk, I lounged for the bag on the counter, and emptied its contents into the awaiting bowl. Don't I sound so smarticle today? I grabbed the bowl and started to head back to the couch.

Just then, a searing pain coursed through my body. With a yelp, I doubled over, spilling the chips every where. The last thing I remember hearing was Charlie yelling my name just before my world went black.

_"Max!" I struggled to open my eyes when I felt someone gently touch my shoulder._

_"Max, wake up." The hand rested on my arm again, but this time it felt hot. I winced, but slowly realized that it wasn't burning me. It felt...nice, almost._

_"Come on, Max; open your eyes." I obeyed and reluctantly parted my eyelids. I was met by the glare of the sun, but after a few minutes of squinting, my eyes adjusted to the light._

_I sat up and looked around._

_I was in a clearing. In the middle of the woods. Alone. Well, kind of. A peaceful breeze rippled through the trees. The grass I was laying on was a luscious green, and as soft a kitten's fur._

_I once again felt the heat on my arm and turned my gaze to it. It was a tan hand. I followed the hand up to a bronzed arm, and from the arm, to the neck. I paused, my stare lingering on his throat, too frightened to look at his face._

_"Max. Please. Look at me." He cupped my chin lightly with his sturdy hand, and brought my face up._

_Brown. Dark brown eyes was what I was met with. I stared into them, feeling myself drown in their chocolaty appearance. They say the eyes are the windows to a soul, and his were wide open. Cheesy, huh?_

_He brought one hand up and brushed some hair out of my face, ever so gently. I cringed at his touch, and tried to back away, but he put that same exact hand behind my head to prevent me to._

_He stared at me, taking in my appearance, from my small chin, to my hazel eyes. When his eyes met mine once again, I felt as if all the air was sucked out of me. His eyes held so much love and compassion yet at the same time a look of lust and need._

_He leaned in and kissed me, just a bare brush of his lips at first. I closed my eyes involuntarily, and savored the fleeting taste of his lips on mine. Then his lips crashed upon mine, and he kissed me strongly and hungrily, as if I might disappear at any second._

_I whimpered as he pulled back, and opened my eyes, once again falling into the hypnotic spell of his._

_"Remember Max; I love you. And I always will. No matter what. I'll love you 'til the day I die, and will continue to do so even after." He pecked me softly on the lips, then disappeared, fading into the thin air. I felt a tear role down my cheek._

_It felt as if my heart was just torn in two by a man I didn't even know._


	4. Chapter 4

I woke up in what I guess you could call a cold sweat, except for the fact that I was burning hot. It felt as if my entire body was aflame, and like I was bitten by a thousand fire ants.

I saw Bella's sleeping figure on the bed across the room, and Charlie's form on the ground in between the two beds.

I felt the need to say something, but my throat was so dry. Spying a glass of refreshing water on the nightstand next to my bed, I struggled to raise my arm to reach it. I downed the entire glass within five gulps, and instantly craved more.

After ten minutes of trying to get up, I gave back and laid down in my pool of sweat. Yeah, I know. _Ew_. I tried to go back to sleep, but every time I closed my eyes, the image of that boy danced behind my eyelids.

Who was he? In my dream, I felt as if I've known him forever. When he sat next to me, I felt peaceful. When he touched me, I felt safe. And when he kissed me, I felt an emotion beyond the largest form of love.

How is it possible to feel all that for a guy I haven't even met? Last time I checked, it wasn't normal to _love_a complete stranger. With a sigh, I surrendered into the sleepiness that crept up on me.

"Is she better?"

"Does she _look_better?" I groaned and rolled over, smacking my arm against something hard.

"Ow," I mumbled, slowly separating my eyelids. I was met by Emmett's somber face. He chuckled.

"If anyone should be saying 'ow', it should be _me_. If I recall, _you_weren't the one hit across the face...but you sure look like you were." I grumbled and tried to sit up, but failed miserably. Em slipped his arm around my waist and hoisted me up so my back was resting against the bed post.

"Wow, thanks Em. You sure do know how to make a girl feel beautiful." Note the sarcasm. He brushed some hair out of my face and held my gaze.

"You _are_beautiful, Max." We stared at each other, all the while butterflies were in a frenzy in my stomach.  
"Erhem. Sorry, I don't mean to be interrupting, but I'd like to make sure my step-sister isn't dying from a deadly disease, because if she is, then Charlie's going to kill me." Bella shimmied up to the bed and pushed Emmett over to make enough room for her to sit on the bed.

"You're _so_caring, Bells. Don't strain yourself from trying to help me." I rolled my eyes.

"I try. So, how'd you feel? 'Cause honestly, you look like death."

"I'm fine," I replied curtly. I don't know if it's just me, but being told I look like hell doesn't really boost my self esteem.

"Uh huh, sure. Being out cold for a week sure is fine," Em's voice dripped with sarcasm but was laced with concern. He held my gaze for a minute before I looked away and blushed. Whatever happened earlier freaked me out. It's not possible that I'm falling for my best friend, right?

"Really. I'm fine. There's nothing wrong wit- did you say out cold for a _week?_" I glanced incredulously at Bella, waiting for her to tell me that he was kidding.

"Yeah. You were sleeping for an entire week. We called a doctor and he said you had an intense flu. He said you should wake up the next day, but you never did. You really scared us." Bella sniffled and didn't meet my gaze.

I swallowed. There was a possibility that I wouldn't wake up. I clutched the sheet until my knuckles turned white.

"Bella, could you give us a minute? It looks like she's freaking out." Bella nodded and stepped out, silent tears streaming steadily down her cheeks.

Em and I sat there in silence for a while, me hyperventilating and him watching me closely.

"Come here," He mumbled, pulling me towards him. I clutched his shirt and quietly cried. He hulled me onto his lap, never breaking our embrace, and softly rocked us back and forth, all the while muttering soothing words.

"It's ok, Max. You're fine. There's no reason to cr- It's your family, isn't it?" When I didn't respond, he sighed and continued to stroke my hair.

I cried harder when he mentioned my family. My parents, siblings, and grandparents all died in a building collapse when I was just ten. The thought of ending up like them, a cold, dead corpse buried under layers of dirt, really freaked me out. I shook and sobbed for a good fifteen minutes.

My bawling finally settled down into little hiccups, and I remained on Em's lap.

"You ok?" I nodded and snuggled closer to him, still slightly frightened. He rubbed my lower back comfortingly.

"I'm sorry you had to see me...break down like that. It's just it's so hard to think about it sometimes-" He cut me off.

"Sh, it's not your fault, ok? We've been over this. The building collapsed due to its weak structure, not because of your 'bad karma.'" He paused to push some hair out of my face, "Believe me, Max. Someone as beautiful, nice, caring, sweet..." He trailed off, leaning in closer with every word he said.

"Just tell me when stop," He breathed, gently cupping my face with his cold hands. I lifted my chin, my lips already parted involuntarily to meet his.

At first the kiss was slow, gentle, pleasant. We broke away for a second, but then, with a growl, he lounged back in. He kissed me roughly, pushing me up against the headboard and getting on top of me. I straddled his waist with my legs and kissed back just as feverishly, trying to keep up with his inhumane speed.

He fiddled with the hem of my sweatshirt, and impatiently yanked it off, leaving me in only my tank top. I huffed into the kiss, disappointed that he was taking control, and broke the kiss for a second to tear his shirt off. He grinned, never taking his lips away from mine.

My back started to feel sore from being pushed up against the hard wood headboard, so with all my strength, I flipped us so I was on top. He looked stunned for a second, but then just pulled me closer.

"You always liked being the one to lead," He mumbled in between kisses. He pulled away and attacked my neck, leaving a trail of fluttery kisses where ever he touched me.

His hands roamed my curves as his lips made their way down to my midriff, then back up to my neck.

I rolled my eyes, and decided to tease him a bit. I pushed down a bit so I could reach his neck. I bit, licked, and kissed his entire neck until I found his sweet spot. I was on the brink of giving up. I gave one last final attempt, and kissed the tender spot right under his ear, and stopped, shocked, when I heard him moan. I pulled back and smirked at him.

"Oh shit," He murmured. I leaned back in and kissed his sweet spot, almost laughing as I heard him suppress some moans.

"C'mon. Don't hold your moans back. They just turn me on," I whispered seductively into his ear. I licked the spot under his ear again and smiled as I heard him growl.

"Bitch. I swear, you're going to be the death of me," He said through gritted teeth. He clutched the sheets as I lowered myself a bit more to get a better view of his face.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," I purred playing with the zipper of his pants. He hissed and jerked upwards, holding the sheets tighter. His hands shot out and pulled me up to him.

"Max. I. Want. You. So. Badly." He moaned and pulled me even closer to him. I smirked at him.

"To bad. You'll just have to wait." And with that I jumped up and sauntered out of the room, adding an extra swing to my hips.

"_Max!_" I laughed as I heard Emmett yell my name, and ran out of the house and hopped onto my bike. Who would have thought I just had a heavy make out session with my best friend?


	5. Chapter 5

Much to my disappointment, I didn't get very far. What I was planning to be my big escape ended up being a complete fail.

I was about two feet away from the drive way when a searing white hot pain erupted through my body. I doubled over with a yelp. My motorcycle keeled over, with me still on it. I hit the road with a harsh crack, but it was nothing compared to the pain coursing through my body.

It felt as if my bones were breaking. I swear I could hear them cracking. My skin was spread tight over my now expanding bones. I cried out in pain, trying to clutch my head to try to prevent it from exploding.

I heard a distant voice yelling my name. I tried to conjure a response, but I could only manage a stifled scream of pure agony. I shivered violently, which is ironic considering that my temperature probably read over 200.

My shivers soon subdued, as did the feeling of my bones being torn apart. I shook my head and struggled to get up, but get this; I was standing on four legs...and I had _fur_.

_~~Jacob's POV~~_

I slapped Quil's hand away and brought the plate closer to my chest.

"Aw! Come on, man! One taco! Just _one_! I'm starved! Please!" His eyes kept darting to the platter full of tacos that I held protectively. I stuck my tongue out at him and the others, and just smirked, satisfied, as I heard them continue to whine.

I heard the screen door slam open and turned my head expectantly towards Sam, who now stood in a huff in the doorway.

"We got some fresh meat, guys. New pup from Forks just shifted today. Jacob, Seth, follow me. I'm going to be needing help on this one." With that he stalked out of the house, without so much as a glance behind to see if we were following. I mean, he was the alpha...what else was to be expected?

I stood up and randomly handed someone my plate, which was still entirely full which delicious Mexican food, and jogged after Sam, with Seth close on my heels.

"Sam," I called as soon as we caught up with him, " What's the deal? A new wolf? But how? Even if you didn't tell us someone was showing signs of shifting, we would have felt it through your thoughts." Sam sighed and swiped his hand swiftly through his buzz cut.

"I was just thinking the same, Jake. It was last minute, literally. Even I didn't know of it. But, there's a catch; you're not going to like it." My throat dried up as panic filled my body.

_'Please, PLEASE don't let it be Bella.'_I sped up, hoping to get to our designation faster. But as I thought about it, my thoughts seemed to shift; if it _was_ Bella, then that would give us more of a chance to be together. If she became a werewolf, then that blood sucker wouldn't be able to stand her, and he'd dump her. And I'd be there for her. We would share thoughts, become one, even imprint on each other; a double imprint.

I ran even faster, but this time out of eagerness. But the sight before me wasn't one that I expected; much less wanted.

_~~Max's POV~~_

Not long after my discovery, I ran into the woods, ashamed and frightened. _What the hell am I?_ Last time I checked, turning into a six foot tall wolf wasn't exactly _normal_.

I paced along the woods, thinking about the, erhm, situation I was in. It wasn't long after that I heard some commotion going on towards the entrance of the woods. Curious, I jogged over to the side of the road, slightly crinkling my nose at the sickly sweet smell hanging in the air.

I tilted my head in utter confusion at the sight before me: Emmett was crouched, poised as if he was going to attack. Now imagine that, then add threehuge men standing in front of him, with one of them shaking in what seemed to be pure rage.

"I swear, you mutts, if you don't leave right now, I'll rip your heads off!" Em lounged at them but I quickly put myself between him and the strangers. He collided into me with a sickening thud. I yelped, then quickly stepped away from him. He smelled like he was dipped in a vat of over poweringly sweet vanilla. The smell overwhelmed my senses, leaving me a bit dazed.

"I suppose this is the pup? He's kinda small..." The younger looking one of the men scrutinized me. I growled at him. The older man chuckled slightly.

"Ignore Seth. He can barely tell the difference from a grape to an orange, much less the gender of a wolf. Listen up, we'll explain everything to you, but first we need you to phase back; do you think you could do that?" I rolled my eyes to my best extent and glared at him.

"Sam, it might help if you explain how to do so." Why did this guy seem so familiar? I feel like I should recognize his face...

"Ok, just think calming thoughts; breathe in deeply, then exhale slowly- wait! Go behind the bushes! Aw crap, Jake toss her your shirt." I managed to make a mad dash towards the bushes before I completely phased back to my human form, correction, my _naked_human form. A black shirt came my way and I quickly pulled it on. I sighed when I saw that it went down to my mid-thigh.

I stepped out from the cover of the leaves and walked right up to the men. I peered at them and poked the youngest one in the arm.

"Um...if you're wondering if we're real, we are. And your poking is kinda hurting..." He trailed off and laughed at my sheepish face.

The guy who I presumed was Jake flicked him in the ear and turned towards me.

"Hey, I'm Jacob Black...do I know you from somewhere?" I tilted my head slightly to the right, a habit of mine when I'm thinking, then broke out into a huge smile.

"Oh my God! Jake! I haven't seen you in years!" I jumped and hugged him. He seemed startled at fist but then comprehension dawned on his face.

"Max? You're kidding! Maxy! I've missed you!" He picked me up and twirled me around.

"You know him?" Emmett leered. Oh...I forgot he was here. I started to take a step towards him but I instantly stopped. I can't stand that sweet scent.

"Yeah, sure I do. We met when I was about 12, plus, he's obsessed with my sister." I poked Jake's stomach and smirked at him. He flicked my head. Pretty soon, we were wrestling on the ground, with me pinning him down. I was just about to make a joke about how he was getting beat by a girl when Em spoke up.

"You never told me you were friends with the flea bags." He sneered at the guys while the others glared at him. Jake slowly stood up and stealthily hid me behind him, like he was protecting me from Emmett.

I peeped my head around Jake's back and looked on at the fight that was surely going to unravel.

"Look, we're not here to start a fight. We're just here to recruit the girl then we'll be off your land." Sam, who I guessed was the leader, stepped forward.

"_Over my dead body!_" Emmett growled, ready for attack.

"That could be easily arranged," Jake spat right back.

Before I could intervene, he attacked, and all hell broke lose.


End file.
